tom_mn

Lee's Ferry: this interesting short detour allows rare access to the roaring Colorado, neat to stand beside.

If you look you can find free slot canyons, Antelope is pricy.

janisj

His mind may in fact be made up . . . But he obviously made some inaccurate assumptions, so why on earth not give him more info???

MmePerdu

I believe we have. But tough to organize when he says LA isn't appealing then says he'll go there to spend some time touring, then advised twice that his reason for not going on to LV, it' expensive tos bogus...mind made up, info or no info.

Linus1987

@Mmeperdu, @janisi and @michelhuebeli, my sincere apologies if I'm seemed to be fickle about LA. Yes, I do initially thought that LA was "boring", but after reading through the comments above plus doing some online searching, I have decided to do some touring in LA since I have already flown so far across the globe. Once again, I really appreciate your advice and if i really do change my mind again about LA, I'll definitely consider the Southwest Airlines option (I just checked the prices on the mobile site as I can't seem to access the desktop site, and it's really cheap! Just can't find the baggage policies off the mobile site...).

@emalloy and @tom_mn, yes antelope canyon is indeed beautiful and I plan to do a day visiting that and horseshoe bend before driving on to bryce. I have read that there's Upper Antelope (more expensive, wider) vs Lower Antelope (cheaper, narrower). I did also manage to find free slot canyons, but understood that some of them require permits that are distributed in a lottery fashion and some people have waited ages for them. What would you recommend?

janisj

>>Just can't find the baggage policies off the mobile site…<<

As I posted -- Southwest does not charge for luggage.

mlgb

I think you are talking about "The Wave" which has the lottery system in Utah.

Some of the slot canyons of the southwest

http://www.americansouthwest.net/slo...ons/index.html


I think the reason to skip Page/Monument Valley is the amount of drive time you are adding.

I don't necessarily agree with the push to add in a separate flight to Las Vegas. With all the TSA stuff it isn't just a 1 hour flight. You have to add in all the time to get to the airport (or build in a few hours if you are doing a domestic flight after an international..even worse since you have to go thru customs, change terminals, go back through security, wait for luggate twice, check in luggage once, and you still need to pick up a car in Las Vegas. So not only are you not saving time, you are adding in the expense of the flights for two people, and probably a $150 drop charge for renting in Nevada and returning in California.

mlgb

Also, did any one mention that it's 4 hours from LV to the GC?

So it most likely takes longer for a flight+drive,and/or you have to worry about flight delays and missed connections, which isn't an issue if you drive.

Linus1987

Sorry all, I had a real crazy time with work, and finally managed to carved out some time to work on my itinerary. I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread since the last reply was in Feb, but here's an update on my planning.

So I finally bought my air tickets! Below are the details:
Singapore to Los Angeles: Landing on 04 Oct 17 @ 13:25
San Francisco to Singapore: Departing 26 Oct 17 @ 01:15
So excluding time in the air, I would have 3 whole weeks to explore!

So here is my itinerary so far:

===============================

04 Oct to 06 Oct - LOS ANGELES (2.5 days)
Day 1: Wouldn't be doing much since I will be catching up on my rest.
Day 2: Disneyland Anaheim
Day 3: Driving around to places like Griffith Park, TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Farmers Market or Grand Central Market, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, Hollwyood Bowl, Desert Hills Premium Outlet. (I know this is too much for a day, so I will pick a few places out of these.)

07 Oct to 08 Oct - SAN DIEGO (2 days)
Day 4: I would drive down from LA to San Diego in the morning. Would probably head to the Zoo Safari Park.
Day 5: San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, La Jolla. Will then take a night flight (via Southwest since they have 2 free check-in!) to Phoenix (figured this might be a better way than to drive to Grand Canyon).

09 Oct - PHOENIX to TUSAYAN (1 day)
Day 6: From morning, i'll slowly make my way up to Tusayan, and perhaps stop at places like Sedona. Will reach and spend the night at Tusayan.

10 Oct - GRAND CANYON (1 day)
Day 7: Will spend the whole day at Grand Canyon, and go back to Tusayan for the night.

11 Oct - MONUMENT VALLEY (0.5 Day)
Day 8: Will try to catch a sunrise @ GC, and drive to Monument Valley to reach by 1pm for the tour. Will probably stay at The View Hotel for the night.

12 Oct - PAGE (1 day)
Day 9: Will drive from Monument Valley to Page, and visit places like Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon. After the 2, will drive to Bryce Canyon in hopes of catching the sunset. Probably staying at Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn?

13 Oct - BRYCE CANYON (1 day)
Day 10: 1 whole day hiking the canyon. Spend the night in Bryce Canyon. Will do the easy hikes like Pink Ledges, Rim Trail, Navajo + Queen's Garden Loop etc.

14 Oct to 15 Oct - ZION NP (2 days)
Day 11: Morning will drive from Bryce to Zion. Driving Hwy 9, walking along Virgin River.
Day 12: Emerald Pools, Riverside Walk Trail, Zion Canyon Overlook Trail.

16 Oct to 17 Oct - LAS VEGAS (2 days)
Day 13 to 14: Drive to las Hoover Dam, Outlet Shopping, Watch a show, Walk around the strip.

18 Oct - DEATH VALLEY (1 day)
Day 15: From Las Vegas, I'll do a day trip to Death Valley via a drive through, and exit via 190. I haven't really decided where to stay for this night, but am deciding between Lone Pine, Big Pine or Bishop. Any ideas? Objective would be as near Tioga Road as possible (assuming it doesn't close!).

19 Oct to 21 Oct - YOSEMITE PARK (3 days)
Day 16: Entering via Tioga Road, will explore places such as Tuolumne meadows, Olmstead Point, Tenaya Lake. Will probably stay at the Yosemite View Lodge for the 3 nights.
Day 17: Glacier point, Taft Point/Sentinel Dome Loop, Tunnel View, Brideveil Falls
Day 18: Mirror Lake, Vernal Falls Bridge, Valley Loop Trail, Lower Yosemite Falls. Might be renting a bicycle.
-Should I drive around the park or just take the shuttle bus?
-Also to confirm, there isn't a need for a wilderness permit since I'm not doing an overnight hike right?

22 Oct to 25 Oct - SAN FRANCISCO (3.5 days)
Day 19 to Day 22: I haven't really decided where to go in SF. Would probably ditch the car and use public transportation since I've read that driving and parking is a chore. Where's a good place to stay?

and then.... HOME SWEET HOME!

===========================================

Let me know of any suggestions to the itinerary. Would probably book the hotels soon since they are running out! I'm open to hotel suggestions too. Thank you!

jamie99

You don't have time to visit Desert Hills Premium Outlet on Day 3 in LA, it is near Palm Springs which is about a 2 hour drive each way from LA. Either add another day to the LA or Palm Springs area or look into shopping at another outlet. I have not been, but outside of San Francisco is the Gilroy Outlet, look at their website and see if their stores will suffice. Keep the car to visit there, then turn in. Also you would not have to drag all your purchases around the southwest with you.
San Diego Safari Park is in Escondido, not San Diego, about a 45 minute drive from San Diego. Just an FYI, I really like the place.

janisj

If you really need to visit an outlet mall - there is one right off I-5 in the middle of LA (actually in the City of Commerce) at the Citadel.

Ackislander

Someone wrote: "Monument Valley appeals to foreigners significantly more than Americans, similar in that respect to Route 66. No idea why."

Why? Because it is in just about every iconic western film and because there is no place like it anywhere else in the world.

I am an American, born and bred, registered voter, meat eating [former] gun owner, fan of Edward Abbey, and I think Monument Valley is awesome. I wouldn't go to Las Vegas if they moved it to my county. And isn't the dam in Page the one that Abbey's characters blew up?

I think we are both speaking from anecdotal rather than carefully researched positions. I wouldn't want to see a poor Singaporean tourist led astray by either of us.

janisj

>>Monument Valley appeals to foreigners significantly more than Americans . . . <<

That was just tom being tom. Anyone who thinks Americans aren't also awed by Monument Valley must be working from a very small sample size . . .

emalloy

If your reservation in Tusayan is refundable, consider calling for lodging in the park at Grand Canyon. This lets you enjoy the park after many tourists have left and see sunrise and sunset. People often make reservations way in advance and cancel as time gets close and they find they can't make the trip. Diving in/near the park after dark is not a good idea as there are elk and deer wandering around, often crossing the road and hitting one would spoil your trip.

Linus1987

@Jamie99 and @janisj - Yea I agree, might not actually go to desert hills premium outlet since I'll be going to the one in Vegas, which I heard is great!

@Ackislander and @janisj - Which is why I've decided to go to monument valley. Can't miss it since I've already flown across the globe!

@emalloy: Yea I've explored hotels within GC, too bad they are fully booked. And I've read they are more expensive than the parks outside as well (I understand why though for its location). I may just book a refundable room in Tusuyan and see how it goes.

Speaking of refundable, do you all actually recommend booking rooms which have free cancellation but at a higher premium?

emalloy

For GC if you can't find lodging in Tusayan, look in Cameron at the Cameron Trading Post. It is at the junction of 89 and 64, about a half hour east of Grand Canyon Village.

I prefer the drive to GC up 89 with a stop at Wupatki a Native American ruin and stops at the view points in the park on the way in.

jayne1973

Your plan sounds really good. Don't give up on trying for a room anywhere inside Grand Canyon National Park. It will be so worth the trouble. That way, you can wake up early, enjoy the sunrise near the rim,and head out!

Linus1987

Just checked the car rental prices off phoenix and it's very expensive, might not seem like a good idea to actually fly from San Diego to Phoenix although it does saves a lot of driving :/

Seems like renting a car from LAX and returning at SFO is the cheapest way to go, but that requires driving from LA/San Diego to Grand Canyon.

HappyTrvlr

I also love Monument Valley and avoid LV at all costs.

BarbAnn

I would tour LA on day 2 and then go to Disneyland on day 3. Spend the night near Disneyland and continue the journey to Escondido or San Diego the next morning. Anaheim is almost halfway between LA and San Diego.

emalloy

For the Grand Canyon part of the trip, look at renting in Vegas.

Fly San Diego or LA to Vegas, rent the car do a loop, return the car, fly to San Francisco where you won't want a car unless you travel outside the city.